Nox
by KamalaC
Summary: Post-OotP, flashbacks to Marauder days. Remus is cleaning the attic of 12 Grimmauld Place, and comes across a photo album from the marauder days. He flips through, remembering events from happier days. Written prior to HBP.
1. Nox

Obviously characters are not mine. This was written prior to the release of HBP, so may contain errors.

"_Lumos,_" Remus Lupin muttered as he held up his wand. A beam of light shot from the tip, and as he looked around the room, he fought to hold back the tears. He'd sworn that he wouldn't cry, he'd mourned the loss of his friend once before. Any more tears would be futile, he had to get on with his life. But going through this house, the former Black residence, was testing his resolve. He'd promised Harry that he'd help to clean it out, and that was what he was going to do. By Merlin, it was hard, though. Whenever he came across something that reminded him of his best friend, the tears threatened to fall again.

He was in the attic of No. 12 Grimmauld Place, trying to sort through the mess of objects that had accumulated. He was surprised to find that much of the stuff he recognised from Sirius' childhood. There... that was the broomstick the 13-year-old boy had wanted, and finally been given for Christmas. Over there, in the old wardrobe, were Sirius' old dress robes. And here... Remus had to bite down on his lip to keep from crying out... an old photo album, that Sirius had obviously hidden from his parents. It was filled with pictures of the four Marauders, from their time at Hogwarts, with scrawled messages written all over the paper not covered by photos. It had been their scrapbook, their memory-keeper. When the others first found his secret, they had all sworn on this book, sworn that the four would always be friends, no matter what happened. If only boyish oaths could be kept...

He carefully turned the pages, reliving the memories contained on the fragile paper. The figures waved at him, all smiling, all unaware of their futures. One in particular caught his eye. There were no humans to be seen. Instead, there was... a stag, a large black dog, and, perched on the stag's head, a small rat. Underneath was Sirius' messy writing: 'Told you you'd love us!' Remus smiled at that. Although they had made light of the work, he knew that becoming Animagi had been extremely difficult. It had caused quite a few arguments, with tempers stretched to breaking points due to the lack of sleep and endless research. They had all agreed though, once it was over, that it had been worth it.

~~~ "Remus, mate, you're going to love us."

Remus looked up from his homework, one eyebrow raised. "My dear Sirius, there is nothing in this world that could make me love you. Now go away and let me study."

Sirius looked suitably contrite for a grand total of five seconds, before the customary devillish grin was back. "Would you care to rephrase that statement in the form of a wager?"

Peter looked confused. "Sirius, what did you just say?"

Sirius grinned at his friend. "Basically... Bet?"

He was graced with a flat stare from Remus, before said werewolf returned to his studies. "Whatever it is, it can wait. I'm behind in Potions enough as it is, and you're not helping any."

James suddenly appeared at his side. "Are you coming, Remus?"

"Sod off, James. I'm busy."

The two black-haired devils glanced at each other, then at Remus, with an evil glint in their eyes. They waited until his quill was off the parchment before pouncing. Each of them grabbed an arm and a leg, and proceeded to carry a struggling and swearing Remus out of the Common Room and up to their dorm, where he was dumped unceremoniously on the bed.

He sat there, glaring. "This had better be worth it, or you're dead."

Peter came in then, a large grin on his face. "Coast's clear." Then the three boys grinned at Remus, who was looking very wary.

"The last time you three had something to show me," he said slowly, "It ended up being a picture of Snape in only his underwear."

"This is better. Trust us." James grinned.

"And the last time you said that, we all ended up with a week's worth of detentions."

James rolled his eyes, while the other two snickered at the memory.

"It was worth it," Peter commented.

Remus opened his mouth to say something, then found himself speechless. Where his three friends had stood moments before, there were now three animals... a stag, a dog, and a rat.

After a few seconds, they became human again, all with identical grins.

"Well?" Sirius asked. "What do you think? This was for your benefit, after all. This way, we can be with you during your transformations, and there'll be no danger to us."

Remus took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, letting the thought sink in. It all made sense now. The nights spent in the library, the secrecy around him... the silencing charm that Peter had been under for a month...

"You were right." He said as he looked at the three boys in front of him. "I do love you blokes." An evil glint then came into his eyes. "But I'm not sure that it was worth interrupting my Potions essay, becau-"

He was cut off by a pillow in the mouth, which started the biggest pillow fight yet. ~~~

He kept turning pages, knowing that he would be late for lunch, but not caring. This was all the contact he had left with Sirius, and with James, the unofficial ringleader. It was also how he wanted to remember Peter, not as a traitor, but instead as the quiet, shy boy that was always tagging along, ready to get into trouble with his friends. _Oh Peter,_ Remus thought to himself, _What changed? What made you turn away from us?_ He found a picture, then, just of Peter and James. The younger boy was laughing at something that the black-haired rascal had said. The laughter, though, didn't reach his eyes. They looked a little angry, and scared. Remus checked the date of the picture. He had made sure, when they started the book, to date all the photos. Sirius had called him an order-freak, but he'd done it anyway. He looked at the small numbers, and quickly worked it out. It was near the end of their seventh year. So... he was already starting to turn from them then.

The next picture saddened him again. It was of himself and Sirius. He was sitting in bed, reading, with Sirius curled up next to him, head in his friend's lap. He remembered the occasion well. It was just after they'd made up from the 'Snape Incident,' as they referred to it.

~~~ "Moony, I'm bored." Sirius complained as he flopped onto his friend's bed.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Padfoot, it's eleven at night. You're supposed to be sleeping."

"You're not," he pointed out, somewhat petulantly.

"That's because I'm trying to finish this book for Muggle Studies." Remus held up the book, which was promptly snatched for inspection.

"Oliver Twist? What's it about?" Sirius asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Well, it's about a young boy, an orphan called Oliver Twist, if you'll believe it, who's raised in a workhouse. The boys are treated really badly there, and they don't get much to eat, only a bowl of gruel thrice a day."

"Criminal! I wouldn't stand for it." Sirius exclaimed, his eyes flashing.

Remus grinned. If there was one thing that could always be counted on to distract his friend, it was a good story. And he seemed to have a particular weakness for stories when Remus told them. He patted the bed next to him, indicating that Sirius should sit there. The other boy crawled up to sit next to Remus, then curled up with his head in his friend's lap, settling in for a good story.

"Anyway, they're all half-starved. So one day, after he's finished his meal, the other boys force Oliver to go up and ask for some more food." He then told Sirius the whole story, in brief form, up to where he had been reading before the inturruption. He absently stroked the boy's hair, like he did to the dog that he turned into. When he finished the summary, Sirius was quiet for a while, and Remus thought that he was asleep, until he spoke again.

"Y'know, we're kinda like those boys."

Remus blinked. "What?"

"We, the Marauders, are like the orphans in the book. You're kinda like Oliver, trying to keep out of trouble, but not having much luck, cause James and I, who are like the Artful Dodger and Fagin, always pull you back into our clutches." He sounded sad, and Remus knew he was thinking about the Snape Incident and subsequent fight.

"You don't pull me back into your clutches, Paddy. I come back willingly."

After a moment of silence, Sirius grinned up at his friend. "Read me the rest?" Remus nodded, and opened the book again.

"Chapter XLVII: Fatal Consequences. It was nearly two hours before daybreak - that time which, in the autumn of the year, may truly be called the dead of night, when the streets are silent and deserted, when even sound appears to slumber..." It was after midnight when he eventually came to the end. "But, if the spirits of the dead ever come back to earth to visit spots hallowed by the love - the love beyond the grave - of those whom they knew in life, I believe that the shade of Agnes sometimes hovers round that solemn nook. I believe it none the less because that nook is in a church, and she was weak and erring." He closed the book and set it carefully on his bed-side table before looking down and Sirius. His friend was asleep, breathing gently, and displaying an innocence he never showed in waking hours. Remus smiled, and shifted his friend so that they were curled up together. He couldn't be bothered carrying Sirius to bed, and the extra warmth wouldn't go astray. He hadn't even realised until the next morning that James had woken in the night and taken a photograph of the two of them. ~~~~

Remus flipped a few pages, and found the one taken in the summer after their fifth year. They'd been exploring the caves near the new house where Remus and his parents had moved. All four of them were filthy, covered from head to toe in mud. Remus battled for a moment to distinguish between the four of them, until his common sense returned and helped him. The one on the far left, that was James. The glasses gave it away. That meant that the one next to him, pretending to strangle him, was Sirius. The shortest one was Peter, which meant that he was the one on the end, standing slightly apart, laughing at the antics of his two best friends. His parents had taken that picture.

~~~ "James, I don't think this is such a good idea..."

"Come on Peter, don't be such a wimp."

"I'm not a wimp!"

"So come on then!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Stop teasing, Prongs. You know as well as us that we shouldn't be in here without a light."

"But if we go back for a light now, your parents will make us wait until tomorrow to explore, and I can't wait that long!" Sirius exclaimed. Remus laughed at him.

"Padfoot, you're bouncing around like a hyperactive were-cat on doxy-dust. Stop it."

All four laughed, though Sirius kept bouncing. "Can't stop, too excited. Gonna explore!"

"Child," Remus muttered under his breath.

"Well, my dear Marauders, I happen to have the answer to our problems." James grandly stated, reaching into his backpack. After a moment of digging around, he pulled out two medieval torches. Remus stared at them.

"Where were you keeping those? That bag can't be big enough to hold all the stuff you keep in there."

James grinned and wiggled his fingers at his friend. "Maaaaaagic!" Remus instantly regretted ever having told James about the Elenium trilogy. He had started acting like the child-goddess Aphrael, thief and prankster extraordinaire, for the sole reason of being annoying.

"That's all well and good, but how are we going to light them?"

Sirius pulled a Muggle cigarette lighter out of his pocket. "Using this!" He set fire to the torches, and handed one to James, keeping one for himself. "Come on, Moony, you're with me. Wormtail, you're with Prongs here." With that, he leapt off, leaving Remus to scramble after him.

They had fun, the two of them, exploring their passage of caves and tunnels. After an hour or two, they collapsed on a large rock in one of the caves. Remus grinned at his friend as he fixed the torch between two smaller rocks. He'd never tell Sirius, as it was too sentimental, but he'd always thought of the boy as his light in the darkness. Whenever things were bad, Sirius was always there to make things better. When he had nightmares, it was always Sirius who made it to his bed first, to wake him and hold him as he cried. When they'd been fighting, the nights had seemed so much darker, without his light to drive away the shadows. It had taken him too long to realise it, but as long as Sirius was in his life, there would always be light. ~~~

_But no more,_ Remus thought sadly. Now that Sirius was gone, there would never again be a light to help him through the night. He stood slowly, holding the album to his chest. He would show it to Harry, to help him know his father better. He could hear Molly calling through the house for her assorted children and extended family to stop dawdling and come down to lunch. As he stepped out of the door, Remus turned to look around the room once more. His star was gone, and no amount of reminiscing could ever attempt to equal the bright light. Not since that day at the Ministry, when the light went out of his life forever. "_Nox._"


	2. Cooking to Music

_Where did she put those moulds?_ Remus thought as he searched the cupboards. He was in the kitchen at the Black house, making chocolate, and searching for something to put it in. In the back of his mind he was feeling a little guilty about not talking to Harry about the photo album yet, but he simply hadn't found a time when Harry was alone. The wizard's wireless was tuned to a Muggle station playing seventies music, and he was quietly singing along to the current song.

"Now there seems no reason why I should carry on

In this land that once was my land, I can't find a home

It's lonely and it's quiet and the horse soldiers are coming

And I think it's time I strung my bow and ceased my senseless running..."(1)

"I didn't know you could sing," a voice behind him commented.

Remus looked over his shoulder to see Harry leaning against the doorframe, head cocked to one side, looking slightly amused. A shiver went through Remus - he'd seen Sirius adopt that same pose many times.

"I can't really. Not when I know someone's listening, anyway." He glanced at the clock, and became concerned when he realised how late it was. "Why are you up? Did you have a nightmare?"

Harry smiled ruefully. "Didn't get that far. Couldn't fall asleep." He wandered over to the oven and looked in the saucepans. "Does Mrs. Weasley know you're getting these pots dirty?"

Remus looked slightly offended. "It's not her house, and they're not her pots." He then gave Harry a guilty smile. "Anyway, I'm hoping that if I clean them, she won't notice."

Both laughed a little, then became quiet. Remus realised that this was the perfect time. "Harry, I have something to show you. Wait here a moment." He quickly retrieved the scrapbook from the sitting room and returned. Without fanfare, he presented it to Harry. "It's from our school days. I thought you should have it - it might help you know your parents better."

Harry opened it, immediately entranced by the photos and comments. He smiled at the picture of the three animals, and Remus explained the story behind the picture. The next page was covered in photos of James and Sirius, occasionally with Remus, on a stage singing karaoke. One in particular caught Harry's eye - the two black-haired boys were apparently singing a duet. Next to it was a drawing of (apparently) James and Lily kissing.

"Ah yes," Remus sighed. "That was a very... interesting night, to say the least."

"What happened?" Harry asked, interested.

"Well, it started three days before a Hogsmeade weekend. The Three Broomsticks had just gotten an enchanted karaoke machine, and there was going to be a competition. As you can see, James and Sirius were very keen on the idea - there was a Muggle bar near James' house that had karaoke, and he often dragged the rest of us there in the summer. But this was not long after Lily had started to notice your father wasn't as much of an idiot as he seemed. Anyway, Sirius and I were in the common room, me studying, him doing his best to distract me, when James burst in and nearly knocked several younger students over in his hurry to get to us."

"Padfoot, you've gotta help me!"

Sirius looked up at his best friend. "How much is it worth to you?" He grinned.

"I'm serious. I've been entered into the karaoke competition! I need help!" James looked terrified at the thought, while Sirius and Remus just looked confused.

"Prongs, you've dragged me out to karaoke loads of times. What makes this so different?"

Remus had already clicked. "Lily will be in the audience. He wants to impress her."

Sirius grinned again. "Aaaaaah. Now I get it." He thought for a moment. "So what do you need my help for?"

"You know I'm not that great a singer-"

"Too bloody right."

"-but whenever we sing together, everyone says it sounds great, so I was thinking..."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, then cracked up laughing. James stood over them, not looking amused. The other two eventually regained control, and looked up at James. "All right, I'll help you. One condition though."

"Anything," James agreed, a little too hastily.

"I get the guy's part." Sirius looked cutely at James, then cracked up laughing again.

Harry laughed. "That sounds like Sirius," he choked out, while Remus smiled and turned back to the chocolate. "So what song did they sing?"

Remus smiled as he started to melt the copha for another batch. "Well, James loved Muggle music, and Sirius was a huge Meatloaf fan, so they settled on one of his lovey duets... I think it was with Bonnie Tyler."

Harry couldn't wipe the grin off his face. "This is gonna be good."

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this..." James muttered, looking around the crowded tavern.

"James, you're the one that begged Sirius to help you. We had nothing to do with getting you signed up for the competition." Remus stated calmly.

"Well, when I find out who did sign me up I'll kill them."

Peter quietly moved to stand behind Sirius, who just as quietly took up his defensive stance, ready to protect the smaller boy. James, being wrapped up in his misery, thankfully didn't notice.

"Calm down, James. You've practised plenty of times, you'll be fine." Remus gave Sirius a meaningful look.

"Yeah, we're fantastic! We're gonna walk out with the prize!" Sirius stated, as over-confident as ever.

Peter cleared his throat. "Actually," he piped up, "the prize is as much butterbeer as you can drink in one sitting, so you won't walk out with it."

James and Sirius immediately fell silent, with identical looks of joy frozen on their faces. "Hey Padfoot..."

"I know, I know. We can finally realise our dream of trying to get drunk on butterbeer!"

Remus winked at Peter. That was the perfect way to get them up on stage. Peter looked a little concerned though.

"D'you think we should tell them that it's technically impossible for them to get drunk on butterbeer?"

"We can try!" James shouted over his shoulder, looking slightly offended at his friend's lack of faith.

The four friends fought their way to a table in the middle of the room, where a group of adults were just leaving. They quickly snagged it for themselves, and waited for the competition to start.

The MC was relatively amusing, introducing each singer or singers to the make-shift stage near the bar. The boys recognised several people in their year, and a few younger kids. It was near the end of the list when they heard their names called. James and Sirius nervously made their way up to the stage, and took up their microphones.

The opening guitar chords started, and all their nerves washed away as the piano gently started. As the applause died away, Sirius opened his mouth.

"I'd never tell you one lie, I'd never let you down,

I'd never leave, I'd be the one who'd always be around."

James sang the girl's part, voice wavering slightly,

"Baby give me a chance."

Sirius was back for Meatloaf's lines.

"I'd pull the sun down from the sky to light your darkest night,

I wouldn't let one drop of rain fall down into your life."

James again sang one line, gaining confidence.

"Put your heart in my hands."

Sirius was having great fun as he belted out his next lines.

"Baby believe me I could never do you wrong,

And I would never paint your world blue,

And if sometimes it seems I must have lost my mind,

I might be crazy, but I'm crazy about you!"

As the two sang the chorus together, James looked directly at Lily, who was blushing, but looking back at him. Sirius, on the other hand, was looking at Remus.

"I'd lie for you and that's the truth!

Do anything you asked me to!

I'd even sell my soul for you, I'd do it all for you,

If you'd just believe in me."

As they sang the next verse, they clowned around a little, pretending to be singing to each other and making the audience laugh.

"Just take a look in my eyes, you'll see a love that's blind.

Just take a hold of my hand, I'll take you to paradise."

"Ain't a star that's too far."

"Your every wish will be a wish that I will make come true,

And if you want the moon I swear I'll bring it down for you."

"Let me into your heart."

As James began to sing his big part, he looked at Lily again. Remus guessed that James' his heart was already in overdrive, but he looked as though it was going to burst his ribcage when Lily smiled at him like that.

"Believe me baby, got your name carved on my soul

'Cause you're the only one that I'll give it to.

Go let 'em say that I'm a fool to act this way,

'Cause if I'm crazy, I'm just crazy 'bout you!"(2)

They sang the rest of the song, finishing to the loudest applause yet. They made their way back to the table and collapsed, exhausted. James was about to speak, when the MC announced that Lily was going to sing. Everyone started whispering - Lily had never sang in public before, leading many to believe that she had all the singing talent of a toad.

When she got on stage, however, she looked so natural that she took everyone by surprise. And when she opened her mouth to sing, everyone knew they were in the presence of a gifted girl.

She surprised everyone with her choice of song, too - an Alice Cooper song that was surely too low for her... but she sang it so high that it became a song of beauty and sensuality, not its usual depravity.

"Your cruel device,

Your blood like ice,

One look could kill,

My pain, your thrill.

I wanna love you but I better not touch,

I wanna hold you but my senses tell me to stop,

I wanna kiss you but I want it too much,

I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison..."(3)

Remus glanced at James. He was entranced, not just by her voice, but by the fact that when she opened her eyes, she looked straight at him. In a few seconds, everyone around them realised that she was singing for one person only... the black-haired devil that tried to be worthy of the red-haired angel.

At the end of her song, Lily was given a round of applause that seemed to overwhelm her. She turned red again, and ran to her friends for cover. When the winner of the competition was announced, she seemed the only one surprised that it was her. James and Sirius came a close second, but they weren't disappointed. Once the crowd thinned a little, James went over to talk to Lily, who was looking relaxed and relieved now that the performance was over. He invited her for a walk outside, which she gladly accepted.

When the other three Marauders went outside several minutes later, they didn't go very far before they saw the two standing together, apparently just pulling out of their first kiss. The boys stood for a moment, then Remus and Peter dragged Sirius in the other direction, before he could ruin the moment for the happy couple.

"I guess that's why someone drew them kissing," Harry said, pointing at the sketch. Remus nodded.

"That's Peter's drawing. He was very good at capturing emotions."

Harry glared a little at the mention of Peter, and Remus couldn't really blame him. Harry hadn't known Peter the boy, only Wormtail the traitor. It suddenly struck Remus that, even though Peter was a Death Eater, he had kept the name his friends had given him. That thought brought a little comfort; there might still be hope for him.

They listened to the song on the wireless for a while. It was from a musical, Remus knew, but he wasn't certain which one. The lyrics seemed strangely appropriate for the Marauders though.

"Tyre tracks and broken hearts

That's all we're leaving behind

Doesn't matter what we lose

It only matters what we're going to find."(4)

Harry continued flipping through the album, then stopped. "What happened here?" he asked, pointing at another picture. It was of a thirteen-year-old Remus in a kitchen, with Sirius and James on either side of him. All were covered in some sort of brown goo. Remus growled playfully.

"That was the day James found a recipe for chocolate. So, naturally, we had to make some." He looked a little sheepish. "It was near the beginning of the summer after our third year. I've always been a chocoholic, and your father was sick of seeing me spend all my money at Honeydukes. So when his mother left one of her old recipe books out..."

"Come on, Moony, it'll be fine."

"James, you know my prowess with potions. How is cooking any different?"

"Because this time we're making something that you'll want to eat."

Remus had no answer for that. He knew it was a bad idea - he was appalling at potions, never able to get all the ingredients and measurements right - but somehow, James was always able to persuade him to do anything. Looking at the recipe, though, it didn't look too complicated.

Sirius leaned over his shoulder. "James, what's Copha? I've never heard of it."

"And how often have you cooked from Muggle recipes?" his friend asked, amused. "Come to think of it, how often have you cooked at all?"

Sirius grinned. "Okay, so I don't cook. But what is it?"

Peter surprised the others by speaking up. "It's vegetable solids. It's in a lot of recipes that involve chocolate."

"How did you know that?"

"My grandmother does a lot of cooking. She often wins prizes at the local fêtes." Peter looked slightly proud of his grandmother, and slightly embarrassed at how much cooking knowledge she had passed on to him.

"Well, at least one of us knows their way around a kitchen," Remus grinned. "Now if you can just help me convince these two that I shouldn't be here, I'll be eternally grateful."

Peter shook his head. "No can do. I'm just as interested in the final product... even if we do have to scrape it off the walls."

Remus threw a tea-towel at him, and the two started to play-fight until James stepped in. "Come on, Mum'll kill us if we mess up her kitchen. She's very protective of it."

"So how come you're allowed in it?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Because I always clean it up before she sees the mess I make."

"Fair enough."

With that, the boys started cooking. When it came time to add the cocoa, however, Sirius 'accidentally' nudged Remus, making him pour half of the tin into the bowl. They all looked at it for a moment.

"Well," Remus sighed, "at least we know it'll have flavour." He tried to stir it in, but quickly ran out of liquid. "So... how do we make it runny again?"

Peter looked around, then came over with a bottle of milk in his hand. "Add this, I suppose."

Sirius nodded. "After all, it's meant to be 'milk chocolate'. Might as well experiment." He added a dash of milk, looked at the bowl, then tipped the rest of the bottle in.

"You don't do anything by half-measures, do you?" Remus tried to look annoyed, but wasn't quite able to manage it. "So is this going to end up as chocolate, or poison?"

"Well, with you cooking it and us helping... probably both." James quipped.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot." Remus left the saucepans for a moment to fetch the moulds. While his back was turned, James and Sirius shared an evil glance, then both pulled tiny vials out of their pockets. James tipped the contents of his into the dubious mixture, while Sirius poured some of his onto the wooden spoon lying next to the oven. They then backed off a little, while Peter moved well out of the blast range, and surreptitiously retrieved his camera.

When Remus turned back to the chocolate, he didn't notice anything different. When he put the spoon into the saucepan and started mixing, however, he quickly realised that something was wrong. "Uh, James? Is it meant to be bubbling like tha-" He was cut off when the mixture exploded, covering not only the three boys in chocolate, but also the wall, oven, counter and floor.

Remus spluttered a bit, then licked his lips. "Mmm, nice." Then the four started laughing, and as the three at the oven turned around, Peter snapped a photo.

As Remus came to the end of his story, Harry was laughing so hard that Remus couldn't help joining in. After a few moments, they calmed down, until Remus finished it off. "Five minutes later his mother came into the kitchen. I honestly thought that we'd never be invited back to that house! And in fact, we didn't go back there all summer - but she seemed to have forgotten by the time the next holidays came around."

Harry wiped a tear from his eye. "That sounds like something Sirius would do."

Remus smiled. "Sirius always wanted to make things explode. And your father was generally more than happy to help him." It suddenly struck Remus that although Harry looked like his father, he seemed to have been more influenced by Sirius. It saddened him when he thought about it, about how many people they had lost.

When the Marauders were younger, it was always assumed that Remus would be the first to go - werewolves were not known for their longevity. They had also assumed that all of them would have at least one child, to become the next generation of Marauders. Instead, the others had fallen away one by one, and he was left to pass on the memories to the only offspring - who had, in a way, been raised and taught by all of them. He was determined not to let Harry lose any more of the people he loved. As they fell into silence, the haunting sounds coming from the wireless were again oddly symbolic.

"The show must go on!

The show must go on!

Inside my heart is breaking,

My make-up may be flaking,

But my smile still stays on...

I'll top the bill,

I'll earn the kill,

I have to find the will

To carry on with the show..."(5)

Harry was again flipping the pages of the album, when he came across a picture that looked very similar to one Hagrid had given him. It was of his parents, this time younger, skating on the frozen lake. He smiled, and wordlessly showed Remus. Remus smiled back at him.

"Ah yes, that was in the Christmas holidays of our seventh year. Lily found out that James was spectacularly awful at ice skating, so she took it upon herself to teach him."

"Lily, I really don't want to do this..."

"Stop being a prat, James. You are going to learn how to ice skate if it kills you." Lily glared at her boyfriend. She'd been shocked to find out that he was not only terrible at ice skating, but he didn't even have skates. Sirius had procured some for her to give to him (though she wasn't sure she wanted to know where he got them from) and now they were on the edge of the lake, Lily on the ice, James trying to stand in the skates.

The other Marauders hadn't been able to resist this time. Peter and Sirius were on the ice, never straying too far from the couple, while Remus was resting at the edge of the lake. The full moon had passed only a few nights before, and he was still tired. He wasn't too tired, however, to make quiet comments to James.

"James, it amazes me that someone as graceful in the air as you can be so graceless on the ice."

James glared at his friend. "There's no one cheekier than a guy who knows his friend won't hit him."

Remus just smiled. For all that James complained, Remus knew he wanted to be better at skating. Not only was it more time spent with Lily, but it was time spent outside, not cooped up in the stuffy common room or stuffier library. There was something about his scent that became stronger whenever he was outside, letting Remus know how much he was really enjoying himself.

Eventually, Lily became sick of waiting for James to gather his courage and step onto the ice, so she pulled him out with her. Watching this, the other boys couldn't help but laugh at James' attempts to stay upright. Sirius in particular couldn't help but comment.

"Prongs, the blades go on the ice."

"Shut up, Padfoot."

"Honestly, you can't skate on your backside."

"Shut UP, Padfoot."

"Although I suppose we could always attach the blades to your ar-"

"SHUT UP!" With that, James lurched after his friend, letting go of Lily's hand and flailing at the air. Sirius started to skate off, going slowly but still staying out of James' reach. As James became more confident and started to get a feeling for it, Sirius started to skate faster. In a matter of minutes, they were both flying around the lake, James seeming to have forgotten all his reservations in lieu of catching his friend.

Lily made her way over to Remus and sat beside him, watching the boys and laughing. "I didn't think of that approach."

Remus smiled at her. "Of course not. Besides, it wouldn't work - James would never be mad enough at you that he'd want to strangle you."

Lily blushed as Sirius used Peter as a human shield. Unfortunately for the three boys on the ice, Sirius had neglected to take into consideration James' knowledge (or lack thereof) of how to stop. The pair on the bank watched the crash in slightly concerned amusement. Lily shrugged, smiled at Remus, then skated over to her boyfriend. She helped him up and led him away from the two boys still lying on the ice, laughing like maniacs.

Sirius and Peter somehow managed to stand, using each other as leaning posts, and went back to Remus, who was still looking highly amused.

"Very well done, Sirius. He knows how to go fast and dodge others. Now perhaps Lily can teach him to go slow, and how to stop."

Sirius just shrugged. "It was taking too long. I was losing my patience."

"And we all know how much patience you have in the first place," Peter joked.

Sirius looked offended, then grinned. "Well, if you put it like that..." He then brought his hand up from where it had been resting against the snow, to show a hastily-formed snowball, which he threw at the smaller boy, sparking yet another snowball-fight between the three of them.

Harry was staring off into space as Remus finished his tale. He watched the boy for a while, until Harry suddenly smiled back at him. "I can see them skating together. One of the pictures in the album Hagrid gave me was of them as adults, skating somewhere."

Remus nodded. "After his first foray onto the ice, James fell in love with it. As it was Lily's favourite winter sport, they often went out to local ice skating rinks, or onto the frozen lake. I believe the photo you're referring to was taken not long after they were engaged - he proposed in the middle of the ice."

Harry was entranced by the stories Remus knew. It was as if there was a door separating Harry from his parents, and the stories Remus told were the key to opening it. Remus was aware of this, and was doing his level best to tell Harry everything he could.

They came to the end of the book, and smiled at each other. There was a moment of silence, as they listened to the latest song on the wireless, feeling a little more at peace for having shared the stories.

"And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune

Then the piper will lead us to reason.

And a new day will dawn for those who stand long

And the forests will echo with laughter."(6)

Harry suddenly sniffed the air, and frowned. "Remus, do you smell something burning?"

Remus looked confused, then mortified. "My chocolate!" He scrambled for the oven, just a little too late. The resulting explosion was similar to the one more than two decades ago, and the pair of males couldn't help but laugh.

The songs:

(1) 'Indian Sunset' by Elton John

(2) 'I'd Lie For You (And That's the Truth)' by Meatloaf

(3) 'Poison' by Alice Cooper

(4) 'Tyre Tracks and Broken Hearts' by Bonnie Tyler, from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (so it's not 70s, but Bonnie Tyler is from that era. It's called 'artistic licence.' Deal.)

(5) 'The Show Must Go On' by Queen

(6) 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin


	3. Memories of Silence

A/N: Slightly AU ending.

Remus stared out across the river. He knew the other would come - even though it had been a long time since they had talked, or even seen each other, the man had never been able to refuse Remus anything. It was something he had counted on many times, tonight included. He held an oblong package in his hands - something he had 'borrowed' from Harry's room earlier.

At the sound of someone approaching, his ears twitched. He inhaled gently, then turned around to look at his companion.

The smaller man was not looking his best. The years had been especially harsh to him, and Remus couldn't help feeling sad about it. He looked back down at the package in his hands, then wordlessly held it out.

His friend gently picked it up, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. He looked up at Remus, unsure of what was happening. When Remus nodded at the book, he lowered his gaze, and traced the lettering on the front.

The man looked up again, understanding how much this album had meant to the Marauders. It was their memory-keeper, the thing that held them together during the seven short years at Hogwarts, and the years after. When he opened it, the pages fell open to a photo of a much younger Remus, his arm around an equally young-looking Peter Pettigrew. On the other side was Sirius, also with his arm around Peter's shoulders. The smaller boy was smiling weakly, and the two men could see that there were fading bruises on his arms. The young Remus was smiling broadly, while Sirius was obviously saying something that he found amusing. Remus remembered the occasion well.

It was from the summer after their second year. It had been the first time Remus had used his knowledge of the healing arts on another person.

Remus and Sirius were walking together along the road into a small village. They had opted to hike from Remus' house to Peter's, where they were staying for a few days before going on to James'. They had all visited the Pettigrew house the previous summer, and fondly remembered Mrs. Pettigrew's cooking.

As they turned into the lane leading to Peter's house, Remus frowned. The full moon had passed not long before, and his senses were still heightened. Something was wrong. There was a faint trace of fear and blood in the air.

He broke into a run, suddenly scared. The other thing he remembered from his previous stay was that Mr. Pettigrew had a fierce temper, especially where his son's grades were concerned. Peter had never been a genius, but he had done particularly badly this year - the only thing that stopped him from failing was the fact that Remus had forced him to cram each night before exams.

Sirius ran after him, at first thinking it was a race, but when he saw the look on Remus' face he knew this wasn't a game. They were at Peter's house in a matter of minutes, and Remus went straight to the back yard.

There was a large tree in the middle of the garden, which Peter loved to climb. It had always been his safe place. The two boys skidded to a halt at the bottom, and Remus looked up, searching the branches for the smaller boy. He finally spotted him, halfway up the tree, huddled into a fork between the trunk and a large branch. Sirius looked at Remus, then started to climb the tree. He was far more at ease with his feet off the ground, and Remus' injuries prevented him from being as agile as he usually was.

Remus watched as Sirius gently woke the sleeping Peter, and helped him climb down. As they grew nearer, Remus could smell the blood again. He helped Peter down the last few feet, and put a hand on his shoulder. Peter flinched unconsciously from the contact, then looked up, an apology in his eyes. Sirius looked almost ready to murder someone.

The three boys went down to the bottom of the garden, where Peter showed them his injuries. He kept insisting that it wasn't too bad, that it didn't hurt any more. Remus knew better. As Sirius talked to Peter, distracting him, Remus gently applied some of the healing ointments his mother had given him before he left home, knowing that the boys were likely to hurt themselves at some point.

When they had finished fixing Peter up, they all went into the house. Remus and Sirius reluctantly agreed not to interfere - it was Peter's life, Peter's family, and they weren't to meddle. But they talked about it later with James, and they all agreed that they would keep Peter's grades up, even if they had to do the work themselves.

The smaller man looked up, and Remus was taken aback by the expression on his face. It was half-way between a question and an accusation. Remus nodded. They had been good friends... but not good enough.

The only sound was the lapping of the river at the bank as the other man flipped through the pages. His gaze lingered on the picture of Remus and Sirius curled up together reading, and on the picture of the four covered in mud. His fingers traced the lines of the drawings scattered throughout the pages, and he smiled at the picture of Lily teaching James to ice skate.

The next photo he paused over was one of James and Peter, drawing equipment scattered around them. They had evidently just been playfighting, as James had splashes of paint on his face, and there were unusual streaks of colour in Peter's hair.

Remus smiled. James had told him about that day. Sirius had taken the photo, as Remus was in the hospital wing, recovering from a transformation.

Peter was sitting on his bed drawing when James came in and flopped down behind him. He looked over Peter's shoulder, watching in unusual silence as the pencils danced across the page, bringing the drawing of a large tree to life.

When it was finished, and Peter had signed his name at the bottom, James finally asked him about the tree, learning that it was an old oak that had been planted as a sapling not long before his house was built, over a century ago. It was Peter's favourite place to sit and draw, as he could see for miles from the upper branches.

James rested his chin on Peter's shoulder as the boy started a new picture, this time of James. Peter kept looking sideways to make sure he got everything right, and James found it hard to keep still long enough for the drawing to be complete. James then pinned the drawing on the wall next to his bed, joking about how this way, everyone would be able to see his handsome features even when he wasn't in the room.

Next, Peter moved to the windowsill, retrieving his paints on the way, saying that he was going to paint the view of the lake. James had nothing better to do, so he continued to pester Peter about his painting techniques, and how to mix colours properly, and anything else that crossed his mind. Eventually, Peter stopped answering, instead bending over his work in an attempt to block out the messy-haired prankster. With Peter's head bowed in front of him, James couldn't resist. He picked up one of the paintbrushes, dipped it in the bright blue paint, and gently painted a streak of Peter's hair.

The other boy didn't notice at first - nor when James added a green streak, then an orange one. When he added the magenta, however, he pressed down too hard. Peter's head shot up, making James paint a streak down his face. He stared at the bigger boy, then grinned. He grabbed a handful of paint and wiped it on James' hair and face. James then pounced, knocking both boys and all the painting equipment to the ground. Neither of them noticed as they rolled on the ground, laughing and trying to paint each other.

As the fight was winding down, Sirius stepped into the room. He'd just been to visit Remus in the hospital wing, and was surprised to find paint all over the room, including its other two occupants. He grinned evilly and grabbed the camera from Remus' trunk, snapping a photo before diving in and jump-starting the fight.

The men continued to stand in silence, as the smaller turned pages, remembering the time when four boys had vowed to stand together no matter what happened. He wondered what had happened to drive them apart. Neither of the men could place a finger on when exactly things had changed, but neither could deny that the vow had been broken.

The last photo in the book jumped out at them. It showed Sirius with a bruise on his jaw, robes splattered with blood, standing in front of a trembling Peter. At first glance it looked like the boys had been fighting, but upon closer inspection, it was evident that Sirius was defending the younger boy. Both men smiled at the memory. Sirius was always willing to spring to the defense of his friends, even if it meant getting hurt in the process.

The other man shook his head sadly. It had been a day he would never forget... no matter how hard he tried.

Peter had been walking back to their dormitory after sneaking down to the kitchens for supplies. Remus hadn't been eating lately, and Peter was worried about him. It wasn't like him to refuse food, but he hadn't even been going into the Great Hall. He knew the reason - Remus didn't want to see Sirius. They still weren't talking, and any appearance by either meant the other would leave the room.

As he rounded a corner, Peter walked straight into a pack of Slytherins. He gulped - this was definately bad news. He knew that this particular group had been waiting for a chance to pummel any of the Marauders, for although Snape had kept his word about not telling anyone that Remus was a werewolf, the news that Sirius had pulled a prank that almost harmed Snape had quickly travelled around the school. As a result, Sirius had become very unpopular, and the Marauders had had to fend off several attacks. This time, however, Peter was vastly outnumbered. The fact that he was a bad fighter didn't help him either.

To his amazement, they didn't attack immediately. Instead they backed him into a corner, and made him a proposition: If Peter passed information on to them, they would leave him alone. Peter wasn't sure what to do - he could accept, but that would mean betraying his friends. If he didn't accept, he was going to get the spit beaten out of him. The only way out he could think of was to accept, but not follow through - that way he could warn his friends.

As he opened his mouth, however, Sirius appeared at the back of the crowd, one eyebrow raised. Peter couldn't help himself - he squeaked Sirius' name, pleading with his eyes. Sirius took in the situation, then faced the leader of the group.

Rosier glared at Sirius - there had been bad blood between the two boys ever since their first year. There was silence for a moment, then before anyone could blink, Sirius had punched Rosier in the face. Blood spurted from his nose, splashing Sirius and the other Slytherins. He dived at the Gryffindor, but Sirius was quicker - he dodged all attempts to grab him, throwing punches as he went. To Peter, it seemed as if he was dancing. One of the other boys managed to strike a glancing blow off of Sirius' jaw, but the boy kept moving. Suddenly Sirius was at his friend's side, and in the confusion Sirius grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him away.

The boys ran, keeping time perfectly, always just ahead of the gang behind them. They kept running, even after they had lost the pursuing boys, until they reached the Fat Lady. After they gave her the password, and an excuse for Sirius' appearance, they fell through the portrait hole and staggered up to the dorm. Remus and James were there, and as the four came together again for the first time in over a month, there was silence.

That was the night the reconciliation began, when Remus was finally convinced that Sirius wasn't going to betray his secret again. For the first night in a long time, they all stayed up late, talking and joking, and Remus finally ate again.

Remus put his hand on his companion's shoulder, smiling. The man looked up and started to smile in return, but froze when he saw the look in Remus' eyes. He then looked over his friend's shoulder at the rising moon - it would be full tomorrow night. Too late he remembered that Remus' strength and reflexes were especially heightened on the nights surrounding the full moon. Peter then looked over his own shoulder... at the Aurors who had suddenly Apparated.

Before Peter could draw his wand, Remus was holding it up to his old friend's face, slowly shaking his head.

"He was willing to do anything for you... We all were," Remus said with an edge to his voice that the other man had never heard before. The werewolf snapped the wand he held in half with one hand, and dropped the pieces at their feet.

One of the Aurors stepped forward, reading from a long scroll. "Peter Pettigrew, you are under arrest for multiple counts of murder, use of Unforgivable Curses...


End file.
